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Annual peace lecture returns to Leeds
The Leeds International Olof Palme Memorial Peace Lecture, jointly organised by Leeds Metropolitan University and Leeds City Council's Peace Links Group, is to be presented on Monday 19 May at Leeds Civic Hall by Jenny Pearce, Professor of Latin American Politics at the University of Bradford.
Working together with local peace and human rights groups, the Leeds International Olof Palme Memorial Peace Lecture was first established in 1987 in memory of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, a peace campaigner and outspoken opponent of apartheid in South Africa who briefly studied in Leeds in the 1950s. Professor Pearce will deliver a lecture entitled '1945-2045: Towards a Politics for a Future Peace'.
Dr Rachel Julian, lecturer in peace studies at Leeds Met and co-organiser of the event, commented: "We're really excited that Jenny Pearce and Paul Rogers are going to present the annual Olof Palme Leeds Peace Lecture. They are such inspiring speakers and the idea that we must find a way to overcome our fear of one another and develop political systems that solve problems is very exciting. I am really looking forward to hearing them speak and the discussion that follows."
The lecture will begin with an introduction, by Paul Rogers, Professor of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford, to the notion of the years 1945 - 2045 as a 'century on the edge'.
Professor Pearce will then explore this idea throughout her lecture: explaining that we are in the middle of a revolution fuelled by climate change and inequality and discussing politics within the idea of a century. She will consider the ongoing weaknesses in the character of politics (local to global) as a means of addressing the uncertainties faced by planet and people.
Our politics, she argues, still reflect our fears of each other and our potential for violence rather than the potential for cooperation and mutual dependence. She will ask: how can politics meet the challenges of a future peace?
Professor Jenny Pearce is a specialist in issues of violence, conflict, social change and social agency in Latin America and has published widely on these themes. She works closely with movements for peace and change in Colombia and Central America in particular. She has also worked for many years with communities in Bradford District, around inter-community relations, community organising, power and activism. Her interest in bringing all forms of knowledge together to explore learning for change led to the co-development of the Community University (CommUnity) with Bradford community activists.
The lecture will be held at 7pm at Leeds Civic Hall. For more information and to reserve a place, please contact Dr Rachel Julian at r.julian@leedsmet.ac.uk or on 0113 812 3482.